De-Americanization comes as a great cost to us all.

I was born and raised in Northern California. My father’s family and my mother’s family, both from Mexico, emigrated to the U.S. during the Bracero guest worker program. I am the eldest of four children and the first person in my family to have graduated from college earning a B.A. (cum laude) and an M.A. from California State University, Chico. I earned my Ph.D. in political science from Washington State University under the supervision of Professor Nicholas P. Lovrich. I am currently an Associate Professor of Political Science at Pacific Lutheran University specializing in American government, public policy, and race and politics. I am the author of Everyday Injustice: Latino Professionals and Racism (Rowman and Littlefield, Inc. 2011) and co-author of a new book Living the Dream—New Immigration Policies and The Experiences of Undocumented Latino Youth.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx